


falling into place

by rebeccabunch



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: F/F, and the first date will come soon i promise, bear with me here, because there was an eight month gap so let's start at the beginning!, bethencia, i haven't written fanfic in like 3 years, i just have a lot of feelings about valencia having a gf, valencia x beth, with valencia figuring out her feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-03-13 13:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13571808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccabunch/pseuds/rebeccabunch
Summary: Things are finally falling into place for Valencia. And maybe Beth is the thing she needs to make her life feel complete.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written these characters before, nor have I written fanfic in YEARS, but then Valencia and Beth happened so...here we are. The first date will probably be next, and something with her and #gurlgroup4evah (so that I can explore her explaining that it's not about labels and she doesn't care about gender), so this is just a short, simple start? but anyway. HI, THANKS FOR READING.

Life really seemed to be falling into place, and Valencia honestly didn’t think she could be happier if she tried. 

There was a time, not too long ago, when she’d really not been sure what the future had in store for her – and that, as it would with most people, had scared the absolute shit out of her.

It wasn’t as if her relationship with Josh Chan had been the strongest, most stable relationship in the world…but it had been _comfortable_ , in that she was almost positive they could settle down and get married without having to worry about anything (or anyone) standing in the way of that. There was a certainty to it, and she needed that sense of security more than she needed real happiness. 

Rebecca moving to West Covina, and changing all of that in the blink of an eye, had truly thrown her for a loop, but as time went on, she was _grateful_ that someone had stepped in and made her realise that she and Josh weren’t all that compatible to begin with. Still – losing sight of that stable future had terrified her, and when her business seemed to be failing at first, it only made things worse.

But now? Now, everything was coming up Valencia. And it was _awesome_.

Life in West Covina had never been so good, as far as she could recall. Everyone was growing, and seemed genuinely **happy**. Even with Heather carrying Darryl’s baby, the girls still hung out weekly (though the absence of wine was downright frustrating), and Valencia no longer felt that agonising tightness in her chest when she talked to Rebecca.

A few months ago, she’d been so, so afraid. The idea of losing her first real friend had been overwhelming. She hadn’t only cried in the living room of her friends’ home, with the three women surrounding her, she’d cried in the car on the way home. She’d cried when she entered her empty apartment, searched up borderline personality disorder for herself, and saw the statistics. She’d cried more than she recalled crying before in her life – because Valencia finally had real people who cared about her, and she couldn’t lose that.

But these days, she could see that Rebecca was getting better. The agonising dread she’d felt for months had slowly ebbed away, and between that, and her business actually getting on its feet, there was truly nothing to complain about.

The icing on the top of the cake, though? _Beth_. 

* * *

 Home Base was, once again, full of life. Since Heather had started to make changes to the bar, it was busier than it had ever been before, and seemingly _the_  place to be in town.

Despite being surrounded by people, however, the two women certainly appeared to be in their own little bubble. Valencia barely registered anyone else; it really didn't matter who else walked through the door, because Beth had every last shred of her attention.

Prior to meeting Rebecca Bunch, she didn't even know how to act around women. She'd been cold and downright unpleasant at first because it was something entirely new - women didn't like her, and in return, she'd never quite figured out how to act. Meeting Rebecca, and subsequently Heather and Paula, had helped to change that. She'd truly come out of herself over the last year or so, grown as a person, and figured out that she actually could befriend other women.

This felt different, though, but it wasn't something she could put into words. The feelings that stirred in the pit of her stomach when she was around Beth weren't brought on by jealousy or competition, definitely weren't brought on by a mere urge to make a new friend, it was something else. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Since they'd started working together, they'd been spending a lot more time together at Home Base, talking about event planning mainly, but other things always seemed to crop up. Beth was funny, and smart, and thought _she_ was funny and smart (she didn't even used to get humour! And someone thought that she, Valencia Maria Perez, was funny! It was astounding), and somehow, it seemed as if they always had something to talk about. When Heather had pointed out last week that she'd never seen Valencia smile as much as she did around Beth, she'd brushed it off as nothing. But now they were sitting close, and laughing together, it made sense. Heather was right.

"I know we hang out here for work a lot, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime? In a non-work capacity. Grab drinks, maybe dinner?"

Valencia blinked. Her thoughts were interrupted by Beth, who'd thrown the question at her out of nowhere. Or maybe this had been building over the last month they'd been meeting up for work, who really knew?

"That would be great! Honestly, up until recently, I'd never really had female friends before, so it -"

"Oh."

"What?" Her brows furrowed. Beth looked...rejected? What was that about? She said yes, didn't she?!

"I was kind of - asking you on a date. Sorry if I read the signs wrong, I thought -"

A million thoughts rushed at Valencia in a fraction of a second. A date. Because they'd been flirting for the last month. Because Beth made her smile in a way that nobody else could, because when she envisioned a future now, she could see her business booming, with this beautiful woman at her side. Because those feelings in the pit of her stomach, when she sat opposite the blonde like this, were butterflies. Oh wow.

"- No!" She interrupted quickly, unable to hide the grin that was forming on her lips. "I'd love to go out with you. I didn't realise you were asking. I'd - love to go on a date with you. I really would."

 The smile was reciprocated, and a relieved Beth let out a soft laugh. "Then I'll pick you up tomorrow at eight."

"Tomorrow at eight," Valencia repeated. God, it was like being on cloud nine. All she could think of was how damn happy she was, nothing else seemed to register. And really - why did anything else _matter_?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valencia has a date. Naturally, the group are the first people she wants to tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: sorry this took so long! It technically should have taken longer, because I have six papers due, but eh. Procrastination is a key study skill, right? 
> 
> Secondly: there was a change of plan with the order. I started off writing the date, and decided a group discussion seemed to work better first. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

“I know neither of you has any _legal_ say in the matter, I’m just saying you should tell Darryl that Valencia is a **great** baby name.” 

She looked to Heather and Rebecca expectantly, as she placed the snacks down on their coffee table. 

Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t the first time Valencia had brought up her name potentially being used for the baby. She was pretty determined when she wanted to be – but she didn’t seem to be getting anywhere with that one.

Paula rolled her eyes, and chose to completely ignore Valencia’s comment - as she often did - sitting down beside Heather, instead.

“How are you feeling?” 

“Tired. Gross. Ready to be done with this already, you know? But like, it’s something I _can’t quit_. I didn’t think about that.”

Over the course of the pregnancy so far, they’d all realised that. It was a cause of concern, at certain points, but everyone was pretty damn impressed with how resilient Heather was being so far – that said, it was early days. A lot could change in a few months.

A sympathetic nod from Paula led to a temporary lull in conversation, until Rebecca flopped onto the couch with a contemplative sigh.

* * *

There was so much she wanted to tell the group; she wanted so badly to open up about Nathaniel, to tell them they were sleeping together, but she was _scared_. She’d almost lost the group on one occasion before, and the concept of losing the first real _friends_ she’d ever had made her sick to her stomach.

It was no secret that she felt deeply for him, that she’d ended things because she was slipping back into her old patterns, and not because she _wanted_ to…they knew fine well that the entire Mona situation was devastating for her…but for her friends to know she was screwing him behind his girlfriend’s back? She wasn’t ready for that kind of backlash yet.

So, Rebecca did the only thing she could think of: _deflect, deflect, deflect_.

“So, what’s going on in your lives, guys? What’s new? What’s happening?” A little overeager perhaps, especially from someone who’d previously chosen to **completely** overlook Heather’s issues, so caught up in her own…but hopefully they’d think that therapy with Dr Akopian was finally working for her. What could they possibly be suspicious of?

“Actually – " 

_Thank god for Valencia_. She couldn’t have imagined she’d be thinking such a thing a year ago, but a **LOT** had changed. Time certainly did change everything, sometimes in the blink of an eye. And her friendship with Valencia was certainly one of those things. 

“I…kind of have a date,”

It would have been an easier thing to admit if they were drinking, like they used to on nights like these, but it seemed only right that if Heather couldn’t drink, the rest of them shouldn’t either.

But, it was okay.

Why did she need wine? Talking about Beth genuinely made her happy. Just _thinking_ the blonde’s name brought an involuntary smile to her face. She was pretty freaking smitten.

So caught up in her thoughts of the other woman, she almost missed the influx of questions that came at her all at once:

“What?”  
“When?”  
“Who’s the lucky guy?”

* * *

It was such an innocent question.

Nothing was meant by it, that was for sure…but it made Valencia stop in her tracks.

Her initial reaction was to go on the defensive. She opened her mouth to demand to know why they’d ‘assume’ she was seeing a guy, but before the words left her mouth, something clicked in her brain. 

Prior to the group, she’d never even had female friends.

Valencia never really ‘got’ women, and there was always that competitive streak within her. 

Rebecca, Paula, and Heather, were likely all waiting for some semblance of an answer, but a thousand thoughts hit her at once.

How do I explain this?

Am I _gay_?

Was everything with Josh a _lie_?

Did I always like women?

She needed to step back from the situation, close her eyes and count to ten.

* * *

It was a lot to think about all at once, and she could only imagine they were all waiting, wondering what in the hell was going on with her, but…she needed to take a second to herself.

How could they possibly understand what was going on between her and Beth, if she couldn’t even understand it herself?

_Beth_.

She couldn’t picture her, or even think about her laugh, without smiling like a total idiot. It may have taken her awhile to realise the feelings were romantic (and sexual), but they were certainly there. 

The second everything started to make sense, feelings couldn’t be denied.

Then again, the same could have been said for Josh too, at one point in her life. He may have turned into the safe bet, the one she was **settling** for, but she had loved him once upon a time. 

(And the sex wasn’t terrible either.)

So - what did this all _mean_?

* * *

Frustration seemed to have taken over her every thought, and **_ugh_** , she just wanted a simple answer!

Why were feelings so damn hard to figure out? 

Did other people struggle with this? 

Was this ‘normal’? _God_.

She was attracted to Beth.

She had at one point been attracted to Josh.

She’d despised Denise Martinez because of this weird, confusing attraction she felt to her, that she couldn’t quite put into words.

Men were hot.

Women were hot.

And if she was being perfectly honest with herself, she’d never stopped to actually think about gender. 

It really didn’t make a difference to her what their gender identity was. It could have been anything, it was always just about the person for her. 

She’d always been the type to compare herself to other women; to put herself against them, and to try and convince herself she was far better.

\-- At least, until she’d befriended the girls, and started to learn a lot more about herself.

Over the last year or so, since Rebecca had moved to West Covina, she’d become a more comfortable, self-aware person. She was finally in a place where she didn’t have to pretend to be something she wasn’t. 

Was that it? Was that why she’d never been able to admit feelings?

The attraction to women had always been there, on some level, but perhaps she needed to make peace with herself first.

It just so happened that Beth had come into her life at the right time, and things were falling into place. Things were going to work out, and she wasn’t going to let fear stand in the way of potential happiness.

* * *

“Actually,” She was finally able to open her mouth, and process _real words_. “Her name is Beth. I think you guys have met her at Home Base?”

Heather certainly had – she’d been the first one to point out how ‘cosy’ they both looked.

Rebecca and Paula had certainly seen her in the bar, if nothing else…there was no doubting they all knew who Beth was. She just wasn’t exactly sure how they’d react – so she jumped in again, before anyone else could.

“I don’t really know how to explain it, you guys. But I **really** like her. I didn’t stop to think ‘this is Beth, she’s a woman, and I’m into her’, it’s just…‘this is Beth, she makes me feel good, and I want to be with her’.”

Before she could speak again, Heather nodded.

“Totally, like, who cares, right? If you’re hot, you’re hot. You and Beth are _super_ cute together. I’ve never seen you so happy.”

Of course, of all people, Heather would get it. The solidarity was enough to make her breathe a little easier.

“Yeah, it’s a scale, right?” Rebecca enthused, bouncing back quickly from her very brief ‘was I **into** Valencia at one point? Is _that_ why I wanted to lock her in my basement?’ thoughts. “I’m like a 1.8 on the Kinsey scale, so you’re like, what, a solid 3? Not that it matters. But it’s a _scale_. Nobody is totally one thing.”

“Cookie’s right. Nobody _needs_ to be just one thing. Just because Darryl made a big deal of his coming out to all of us doesn’t mean you need to tell us what you want to label yourself as. So, you like Beth. That’s what matters here.”

The supportive smile from Paula, while Rebecca and Heather nodded along, made her wonder what the hell she’d been worried about.

Her friends really were the best.

After all they’d been through over the last few months, especially with Rebecca’s suicide attempt and all, did she really think they’d abandon her over something like this?

“You guys are the _best_!”

“Of course we are,” The smile had become a broad grin, as Paula leaned a little closer to Valencia. “So are you going to tell us all about her, or what?”

Having that unrelenting support from her friends, coupled with the knowledge she was seeing Beth really, _really_ soon was all she really needed right now: this, for Valencia, was definitely what happy felt like. 


End file.
